| What's your football coaching philosophy?
The thoughts behind your philosophy
are why you coach football. It
helps you know what you're attempting
to learn and the knowledge you're
trying to pass to your players
as you coach them. Obviously,
you want to enjoy great experiences
during each season. You want to
ensure your players experience
great things.
But negative challenges occur
during even the best of seasons.
Your football coaching philosophy
is what helps you get through
these challenges while still standing.
Here are five areas you must have
a solid football coaching philosophy
on:
- Offense
- Defense
- What to teach
- Scouting
- Organization
1) What is your football coaching
philosophy when you have the ball
on offense? Are you a "gun-slinger"?
Will your team possess an aggressive
passing attack where you try to
strike fast and hard and pile
the points up?
Or will you have a "ground
it out" style? Get a 10 point
lead, play the field position
game and then sit on the ball
and play keep away with the opposition's
offense.
There are pros and cons to these
styles. They can be seen in the
differing approaches of the Pittsburgh
Steelers and St. Louis Rams. Pittsburgh's
Bill Cowher is a big believer
in the grab the lead style and
then bludgeon the opponent in
the second half with the running
game. He tries to keep the ball
away from the opponent, shorten
the game and hold the lead.
This style works well when you
have solid defense. It also works
better when you finally get a
top flight QB like Big Ben Roethlisberger
who can bail you out when your
"D" doesn't hold the
lead for you.
The Rams ex-coach Mike Martz took
the opposite approach with his
"greatest show on earth"
football coaching philosophy.
He built an offense that could
score at will, passing mostly.
Running the ball was almost an
after-thought in his offense.
Bottom line? You need to figure
out what style fits you and your
personnel. Do you have the big
back or the quarterback who can
sling it all over the field? In
the youth leagues, you most likely
have the running back. But if
you happen to find that top QB,
you may want to go with the passing
style.
2) What's your football coaching
philosophy on defense? Do you
try to employ an aggressive style
attack where you blitz often and
gamble a bit? Or do you play the
"bend, but don't break"
style where you're a bit more
conservative and just try to limit
the opposition to small gains,
then force a punt?
Again, your own personal feelings
and the type of players you have
will ultimately help decide things
for you.
3) There's a ton of information
to teach when it comes to coaching
football, along with limited practice
time. So you must to come to a
football coaching philosophy on
what you think are the most important
aspects of the game you think
need teaching. Prioritize your
time on those main points and
do your best at coaching them
to perfection.
4) Take scouting of the opponent
seriously. Once you've scouted,
though, what's your football coaching
philosophy on exploiting their
weaknesses? How will you go about
devising a game-plan that will
use your strengths to your advantage?
You need to use your formations
and personnel in ways that give
your team the best chance at success.
5) You need to develop your own
personal football coaching philosophy
on how to organize your program.
Everything from your practices
to your off-season program. How
will you find the best equipment
for your team? Where will the
money come from?
How will you deal with all your
interactions with others? Everyone
from your players to their parents
to the referees to the rest of
your community. How will you organize
your assistants in order to delegate
in a healthy way?
As you can see, there's quite
a bit to think about when it comes
to developing your own football
coaching philosophy. I can't provide
you the answers. All I can do
is raise the questions and allow
you to think things through until
you come to your own successful
conclusions.
And these are only the top five
areas. Football coaching is an
ongoing learning experience. Always
be open to all sources that can
help you get better.
Matt & Dave run http://www.football-plays-and-drills.com/philosophy
and have written the free coaching
report, "5 Keys to Discovering
the Successful Coach Inside You".
Pick up your free copy by sending
a blank email to footballtips@aweber.com
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